AT&T iPhone 5 had 2 bars of 4g 2 weeks ago. Straight Talk from walmart had 2 bars 4g lte

Final check of the cams revealed that we have twins!! I had a weird gut feeling that the doe was carrying twins based on how big she was, and my camera proved me right. (Sorry for beating my own drum)

Got a real good 8 point that I will probably take a crack at if given the opportunity. The 6 pointer that was there didn’t make an appearance this month on the camera, not sure if he got pushed out or is just MIA. The 5 pointer is a new guy to the area, looks like he might be a 1 year old or maybe even a 2 year old. One night on the camera the 3 main does and the 5 pointer all made an appearance at the same time, pretty neat to see them all together. Here’s a few pictures as my computer is acting up and wont let me transfer them all yet, still working on that

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I personally found that my Eskimo Flipmo2 is great. Insulated top, back and front does a great job of keeping the heater on low and my jacket off. I found one new from a guy that bought and couldn’t use for about 325. I have some qualms about the durability of the poles in the house, but I also didn’t go out and drop 600-1000 on a portable. It does the job for my girlfriend and myself, with a reasonable amount of remaining room when fully set-up. Fishing by myself is a whole different story with the amount of room I have. For being a small house, it has a ton room and is very light. I can lift out of the back of my pickup by myself. I built a smitty sled so that it pulls nice when I walk out, otherwise eskimo sleds pull like garbage through the snow.

Thanks for the tid-bits Pete S.

I only have 2 stands that I can use right now for hunting as I haven’t made another investment into one. I am hoping to get one set on a ridge and one in a valley or drainage ditch area. I will then alternate based on what is/isn’t working that well or play the wind in my favor, depending which is relevant at the time.

Here are the latest pictures from July. I’ll be heading down one last time 9/3 to check and get all stand preparations in place before opener. The woods will have 2 full weeks to set before I step foot out there again to sling some arrows.

I have 1 very curious doe who I mentioned in my last post who is my most frequent visitor, sometimes spending as much as 45 mins at the blocks. About 15 of those mins were pictures of here looking from side to side. I presume that she was watching her own back or keeping a keen eye on her fawn. I have 5 different bucks working the same area. 1 picture is hard to tell how big he is, but I know his rack is different from the rest (WGI_0356), I have 1 spike buck, 1 four pointer, 1 six pointer, and 1 8-pointer for sure. They are all growing nicely and it will be interesting to see how the season plays out. I am hoping to thin the does out in the area as I have scouted many that never make it past my camera. Brothers father-in-law also reports seeing as many as 15-20 deer on occasion at dawn and dusk grazing the hay fields.

Enjoy the pictures and hopefully will have 1 final pre-hunt update for you next weekend.

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EyeHunter wrote:

Good info here.

I’m kinda in the same boat as Ryan. Recently married into about 30 acres (20-25 of woods) that butts up to a River in SE MN. Part of the land is ridge/bluff and the other half is bottom land where it appears the deer cross the river. I shotgun hunted the land last year for the first time but only hunting it for a small period of time, it was hard to pattern the deer. I’ve been scouting the land quite a bit this year. I’ve noticed it’s much easier to spot the heavily used deer trails in the spring/summer compared to the fall when the growth has died.

I’m currently experimenting with salt/mineral blocks and just set up a trail camera the other day (looking across the deer trail, I’ll have to tweak that). Living near the land it’s hard not to swap SD cards in the camera every other day. I’ve got 16G SD cards and have it set for pictures and 10s videos. How long would you let the camera sit without disturbing it?

As far as blocks: I’ve used the Trophy Rock (all natural) and another block (not all natural). What’s everyone recommend for mineral blocks/licks? I also purchased some clover to plant in the bottom land this fall which will definitely be an experiment. I plan on a few smaller plots scattered in the same general area making it easier to water if need be. Any suggestions for planting and growing?

To start with. I check cameras 1 time per month as I have to drive around 200 miles round trip to just check them. Lots of driving and walking for 1 day. Last check (7/30/16) I had 1300 pics on one camera and about 250 on the other one. I had over 100 pictures of the same doe during a 45 min time span that she spent at my mineral block. Figured out that I tweaked the settings on accident last time to have a shorter shutter delay, resulting in massive amounts of pictures.

I had my brothers father-in-law (who’s land I am hunting) purchase me some mineral blocks that they use for the cows. Great results and I think I paid him right around 10 buck for 2 blocks. Dirt cheap in relation to “deer specific” blocks as TheFamousGrouse mentioned. I did purchase a small 5# apple flavored block to test out. From 6/30 to 7/30 they completely destroyed the apple block, leaving a chunk about the size of D-cell battery on the stump where I left it. I am not skilled or competent on food plots as I dont have the land to venture into those yet, although it seems you have a good plan in place. Add variety (sugar beets, rape grass(?), corn, etc…) to the planting as it will potentially keep them there longer and/or coming back on a yearly basis.

Denny O wrote:

“exact same set-up and he said the entire 16 ft. of lights ran continuously off of a Vexilar battery for 10 days before the battery died.”

Why you would want that much light? Even cut in half would be enough.
And are you using a diehard car Vexilar battery to power your use for 10 DAYS??

Since LED lights take a fraction the power or any other light out there, it hardly draws any power. That amount of time is a testament to the longevity of the battery and how little power the lights actually take. I have about 5 ft of lights ran in my house on the bars and its more than sufficient. I only use those to get set-up in the dark and to take down. Otherwise I use a small headlamp or the clam fan/light combo to provide enough light to see my bobber.

There is sticky backing on the lights and it does bond fairly well to the poles. However I know that when it gets really cold out, adhesive doesn’t work well. I added zip ties about every 8-10 inches just for added peace of mind so that they wouldn’t fall down on me.

Do you have any pictures of how you added weights to the skirt? I have heard many people do this, but I have never actually seen how its done. Do you notice that it takes more or less to heat the house? Any drafts or problems with holes freezing?

While I have heard good things about the clam light bar, and even considered that as an option, I found that I could make a better set-up for cheaper than the price on that bar.

Here is a link to Amazon of the lights that I purchased. http://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesalers-Flexible-300xSMD3528-Adhesive-2026WH/dp/B002Q8V8DM

You can use any type of box such as an old ammo can or something of the similar. I spray foamed my box to add an insulating factor to the battery to help it last longer when it is cold out. Run the strip where you want and hide the wires as you please. Some simple wiring and a 2 prong toggle switch will give you the ‘easy on-easy off’ ability. I am no electrician, but I figured out how to make it all work.

Its even possible to add multiple different strips into the house in different locations and control them all off of different switches run from the same box and battery. Since LED lights take such little power, it is possible to run all of the strips off of one battery. I talked with my brother-in-law since he has the exact same set-up and he said the entire 16 ft. of lights ran continuously off of a Vexilar battery for 10 days before the battery died.

I am in the works of adding more to my house and hoping to make it the ultimate shack.

I gave my battery its first charge around the end of December (when I bought it) and just recharged it 2 weeks ago. I only fish on the weekends and rarely deep into the night(2-3 hours after dark). I use the typical Vexilar style battery and have it wired into a box with a toggle switch. I find that this option is best because it keeps the battery dry and no fumbling with attaching wires to the batteries in low light conditions. Really simple set-up that took me 5 mins to put together after I got everything set up the way that I wanted. I find that it lights the house almost too much for what I prefer (stealthy) but it really is nice. I have been thinking about adding some additional sled lights so I can see whats going on behind me and even some additional red led lights for when I want to remain stealthy to the fish. The clam light bar is nice, but I paid about 1/5 of that price (not including the battery) because I had most of the stuff laying around. The only thing I purchased was the led light strip off of Amazon and a 4 dollar toggle switch from Wal-Mart.

So I am in the process of building mine right now. Finally found some skis at the local thrift store (YAY!). I have seen many different styles of how to attach the cross members, but I am unsure of how I’d like to do it. Does anyone have any suggestions on if I should make them removable or make them fixed to the smitty sled? I was also thinking of attaching them to the bottom of my sled, but was afraid of exactly what you mentioned; Keppenhiemer.

Also, do any of you have an auger mount that you put on your sled for early/late season or just run and gun around the lake? If so, would you mind sharing them with me?

Thanks for all the input on this topic!

Any reports from the west side of the lake? I am looking to “kill 2 birds with 1 stone” while up in the area for other things this weekend. Haven’t fish that lake in almost 10 years, so any input would be good.

Not sure if it’s a generational thing or more related to product development. What probably started as an idea to get out of the wind for those that didn’t have a permanent eventually took on a life of its own. I have no doubt there were many people that got into portables who started to look for ways to add creature comforts to make the fishing experience closer to a permanent. You start adding more space, better seats, etc. that translates to more weight. Now you start to think of ideas to combat the weight which translates to more gear, more this, more that…

I’ve gone to a small flip up and sit on a bucket.
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I tend to agree with your statement, however I enjoy the small creature comforts that my portable has to offer (heat and no wind). I don’t think I will ever own a permanent fish house for the fact that I can move like I can with the portable. I mainly have the portable for my girlfriend and her nieces and nephews that join us in the house. 90% of the time I am out hole hopping trying to find fish. Mostly carrying the auger, vex, and a fishing pole. I’m “that guy”.

I am just looking for efficient ways to pull my house in the early and late season to get on the best fishing that I can while conserving the most energy that I can.

With my Eskimo house, the sled is maybe 4″ tall, therefore making it a huge struggle to pull through deep snow. Up until this year, I never went fishing until the ice was safe enough to drive on, so I never had to deal with this minor inconvenience before.

Hi Seantdeering,

If you are talking about the Lake Sarah west of the twin cities near greenfield, I’d be able to offer advice as I fish this lake on a regular basis. If you send me a private message, I could help you out.

How many holes are you able to have in the house and still have room for gear (heater and vexilar)?

Josh – do you have any pictures of your set-up? How bad do the walls condensate? Is it easy to move around the lake with?

I love to hole hop, but I also enjoy posting up in an area if the bite is hot.

I would greatly appreciate that. If I can make it as a permanent addition to my sled, I would consider it depending on how it operates.

I suggest foam ‘puzzle’ play mat. I picked up a 4 pack from the local Menards for around 5 bucks. They work great and stay together nicely. They don’t get stuck in either and make it so that there is a nice barrier between your boots and the slippery ice. I am still trying to find a good layout in my Eskimo Flipmo 2, but it was by far one of the better investments I made this year for my house.

Although I learned to fish at a very young age, and without the use of any type of fish house, I like my portable. This past weekend it was nice enough here that I didn’t even sit in my house. I will have to look at some different ideas of designs.

jerad – do you have any pictures of yours attached to your house? If so, would you mind sharing?

Thanks to everyone for the input

Is this what you mean by a “lipless crank bait”? If so, how do you fish with them? jigging or deadstick? What do you bait them with?

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I also live in the west metro on the Twin Cities and fish many local lakes. I have been out a few times around here this year, even during the cold snap, and was unsuccessful. I watched countless fish when I would jig extremely aggressive (1-3 ft./jig) follow my bait up. I would then slow it down to the slightest movement and even stopping at points and they would swim away. Repeat above steps for 4 hours and that was how my day on the ice went. I went through, what seemed like, every color and size jig in my box with no changes to the way that they reacted. Continued follows, continued turn aways.

On the other hand, I can jig walleye like no other on Upper Red Lake and Lake of The Woods. I am not sure if this is due to the large quantities of fish in the lake, or if I am just extremely lucky.

I am getting the hang of using a flasher, although I have spent less than 10 hours fishing with them in my lifetime. Up until this year I was a dead stick guy that went out to enjoy the peace and quiet and occasionally the company of good friends. I would guess where the fish were by guessing where I was at on a map. I have since downloaded the Boating USA app on my phone to help pinpoint the areas of a lake that I am looking for. I am still learning how to find fish using a map and assuming where they will be.

I was also told to use “Liquid Tape”, has anyone heard if this is as effective?

Thanks for all of the info. Unfortunately I will probably push the purchase of my otter until either tax time or next season. I appreciate the feed back! I am also looking at options for a heater. I currently run a sunflower but find that its not always necessary because of the heat output. What would you recommend out of the 3 options in the Buddy heater line?

sold!!

I have noticed that a lot of people on here are pro Otter, (and there’s nothing wrong with that) but I seem to prefer the set-up of Eskimo and Clam better. Maybe someone will sway my opinion? I understand that they are well built and have a higher quality pole system but I highly dislike the idea of bench seats as I do not find them comfortable. Do you know if there is a way to convert a bench set-up Otter to a bucket/swivel seat? Does Otter sell a conversion kit? The Otter with swivel seats is too far out of my price range, thats why I am asking

Thanks